a) today, I have to get a couple of new Rubbermaid Brute trash cans: they’re ok for saltwater.
b) a reliable gallon measure. I’ve got a lot of saltwater to mix.
c) an appliance dolly. Jane and I aren’t getting any younger, and we foresee more than one use for this thing. They have them at Lowe’s, and one thing we don’t damage will considerably pay for it.
d) eggcrate lighting grid: I lay this on the bottom of the new tank and set the rock on that, so that there won’t be any ‘point load’ on the bottom glass. I may have enough. I’ll have to check.
e) 1″ hose. And 40 feet of 1″ pipe, with about 12 elbows. Two 1″ valves for cutoff. One pot of purple glue. We’ve been using hose to connect tank to sump in the basement; pipe would be neater. We also need hose clamps.
Getting circulation throughout a wedge tank can be interesting. I’ve been using two oscillating devices that sweep the current back and forth, but I’m wanting to replace those and go for a sleek hood with no bulky oscillators sitting in windows in the facing.
My plan is to extend the downflow right down the back center of the tank as a pipe drilled full of holes, so pump-pushed water will go out in two directions at various levels. That will replace the oscillators.
f) I also am going to try to saw out the top of the fancy furniture canopy: closed lids are not good for a reef: controlling heat in the tank is difficult enough, because of submerged pumps. I’m going to attach the light kit to the underside of the canopy if I can: otherwise I’ll put it atop. Changing metal halide bulbs is a pita! You have to push them til you fear they’ll break, and they can’t be touched with bare hands, because finger oils will cause the bulbs to fail.
g) if I can do this, I’m going to figure out a way to install two computer fans in my canopy: if we start for an overheat problem, I’ll plug them in. Otherwise not.
That’s the start, and we haven’t even involved water yet, except to run 32 gallons of water into those trash cans and 32 more into the one I already have, and add 16 cups of salt to each one. A ‘mixing pump’ will start mixing each container of water.
h) and I need to get 100 lbs of sand, when I can get my hands on it, and get a bottle of Prime, which removes chlorine, and wash it meticulously in dechlorinated water and store it in buckets.
I have no Idea if this can be done or not. I have this picture in my mind of three tubes in the back of the tank; one with holes forward and back, and the others with holes only to the side which they are nearest. I picture flow alternating, left, right, center…
Oh, Tommie, I wish! I ordered a device that could do that: it’s called a SCWD, or ‘Squid’—but it can’t be installed in the narrow confines of the overflow box, and in this tank, the return hose comes up from the bottom of the glass, inside the ‘overflow’ at the apex of the tank. I could put a rotating deflector on it, but the flow from my pump exceeds the 1300 gph limit of the deflectors. My current plan is to have it steady but turbulent. The pump I have involves a solid 5lb lump of spinning metal in a magnetic field, with a small hole that receives water and flings it up the return hose: it spins at OMG-RPM, and the other method of wavemaking, starting and stopping the pump, is just not practical with a mag drive of that mass and velocity. Yours would be the best solution if I could apply it.
For the bulbs (if you have to change them out frequently), try to get a pair or two of archivists’ cotton gloves. They’ll both protect the bulb from skin oils, and your fingers, should one shatter.
See if you can repurpose the case from a defunct computer for the fans! Many computers have ports for multiple cooling fans, and if you can snag the right layout, you may be able to save yourself some cut and paste grief.
We went hardware shopping. We have 10 feet of one inch pipe, various connectors, I think we forgot the purple glue—gutter guard (prevents fish jumping out, two Rubbermaid Brute trash cans (I really need 3 but am going to try to make do) —and an appliance dolly that lets you handle really big objects and stabilize them with a strap; buckets, including one that has a measure on the side—plus one small star magnolia and several bags of composted manure…we never do just one thing.
The fish store is next.
Jeeze, Louise! Forget the exercise videos. You ought to get quite a workout taking care of that lot.